Boston LNG Import Plant Gets 2 Deliveries from Trinidad, So Far
Yesterday, MDN told you that Constellation Energy, the owner and operator of the Everett LNG terminal, is actively trying to find new contracted customers so it can keep the import terminal open (see Boston LNG Import Terminal Still Looking for Customers to Stay Open). Today, we have another story about the Everett terminal and why it’s still needed. In December, and then again this past weekend, the Everett terminal received LNG shipments (two in total) from Trinidad.
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Have you ever been around the kind of irritating person who says “No!” to everything? Someone who is perennially unhappy and loves to share that unhappiness with everyone around him or her? Someone who, when you offer valid solution after valid solution to a given “problem,” the person shoots each one down, unwilling to try anything? Such people are toxic. On an organizational level, we have a perfect example of such toxicness — the 
Republicans control the Senate in Pennsylvania. Until last year, Republicans also controlled the House. Now, leftist Democrats control the PA House by a single seat. As narrow as the numbers are, the philosophical divide between the two parties and the two chambers with respect to environmental issues is a chasm. Republicans like Sen. Gene Yaw, Chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, are focused on safe and responsible energy development and grid reliability in 2024. On the other hand, Democrats, like Greg Vitali, Chairman of the House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, are focused on the mythology of man-made global warming and blocking anything remotely connected to fossil fuels. It means there is little to no room for compromise on environmental issues.
The Energy Workforce & Technology Council, located in Houston, TX, is a national trade association for the global energy technology and services sector, representing more than 650,000 U.S. jobs in the technology-driven energy value chain. The Energy Workforce Council works to advance member policy priorities and empower the energy workforce of the future. The Council closely tracks job numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Yesterday, the Council issued an update on O&G job numbers for December and for all of 2023. Interesting factoid: In December, the M-U industry employed 44,192 people.
We have a special treat for you today. One of our favorite Marcellus/Utica people is Nick Deiuliis, CEO of CNX Resources. Apart from the great work Nick does in leading CNX, he is also a writer and a thinker. He understands the political and philosophical issues related to energy like few others. And Nick isn’t afraid to “say it straight.” Last week, Nick released the first of three videos (embedded below) called “A Rational Thinker’s Guide to Climate Change and Related Policies.” In Part One of the “Rational Thinker’s Guide” trilogy, Nick argues that the most pressing issue of our time is the inept policies being pushed on society by the climate alarmist movement.
After the climate crazies at the UN’s COP28 climate talks finally (after years of trying) rammed through language about “transitioning away from all fossil fuels,” energy intelligence group Wood Mackenzie ginned up ten predictions for the energy industry in 2024 based on the false premise of transitioning away from fossil energy. WoodMac’s predictions hint at a downturn in gas, LNG, and solar projects, and a rise in blue hydrogen, nuclear, and new developments in carbon capture technologies, along with some other forecasts for the year ahead.
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: What has California’s war on fossil fuels actually accomplished?; NATIONAL: Consolidation trend expands to the gas compression services sector; US Supreme Court declines to hear Exxon, Koch Industries appeal; Natural gas futures stage turnaround to settle higher; INTERNATIONAL: OPEC+ reaffirms commitment to unity; 2024 won’t be any easier for energy investors.
In mid-October, the rumor mill kicked into high gear with talk that Chesapeake Energy was sniffing around a merger with Southwestern Energy (see 
The 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which runs from Wetzel County, WV, to Pittsylvania County, VA, is nearly done, thanks to our recent warm weather. What’s left to do? Less than one mile of “upland” pipe to install, less than 50 water/wetland crossings, and just one more compression station to finish. According to Equitrans, the majority partner and builder of MVP, the pipeline will come online in March. Finally!!!!
In early December, MDN updated you on the very real possibility that Everett LNG import terminal (Boston area), which accepts and regasifies foreign-sourced natural gas, may shut down this May following the closure of New England’s biggest natural gas-fired power plant, the Mystic Generating Station in Everett, MA (see 
EQT CEO Toby Rice appeared on CNBC’s ‘Money Movers’ program last Friday to discuss what he expects for natural gas prices this year, what lower natural gas production means for EQT, and more. It was an interesting segment (watch it below; it is just four minutes long). Rice said, among other things, that a key issue for people to understand is that the marginal cost (i.e., the breakeven cost) in the U.S. to produce natural gas is around $3.50/MMBtu, which will hold production levels flat. Prices lower than that lead to lower production.
The Baker Hughes rig count lost ground again last week, as it has in three of the last four weeks. The count went from 622 active rigs two weeks ago down to 621 last week. The Marcellus/Utica count was steady at 40 active rigs, broken down as 19 active rigs in Pennsylvania, 12 in Ohio, and 9 in West Virginia. The M-U’s chief rival (for money and resources), the Haynesville, lost one rig last week and now sports 43 active rigs.
Apart from today’s news that Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy (two huge gas drillers) are close to announcing a merger (see today’s lead story), it is oil companies in U.S. shale that seem to be at the epicenter of a hot M&A market. According to an analyst writing for Argus Media, “meaningful consolidation among US natural gas producers looks unlikely to take place soon owing to historically low, volatile commodity prices and a dearth of large privately-held operators.” The best opportunities lie with companies that have assets in the Haynesville, says the analyst. Perhaps uncoincidentally, both Chesapeake and Southwestern have major assets in the Haynesville (and the Marcellus/Utica).
We are catching up on permits issued…for the last two weeks of December. Normally we cover permits issued for a single week. This report covers permits issued for the two weeks covering Dec. 18 – 31. Perhaps it’s a good thing we’re reporting on two weeks as Ohio’s ODNR seems to have taken the last two weeks of the year off, issuing just a single permit. There were 24 new permits issued for the final two weeks of the year, cumulatively, versus 
Last May, MDN told you about Zefiro Methane Corp., a private “methane offsets originator” headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, acquiring a majority ownership stake in Plants & Goodwin (P&G), an OFS and oil well-plugging company located in Bradford (McKean County), Pennsylvania, for an undisclosed sum (see